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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

February 24, 2020

Chamari Athapaththu

Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia

Australia - 123/5, Sri Lanka - 122/6

Q. What are your emotions after that? You had Australia in a lot of trouble there.
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Actually, I'm really happy about my girls because we are a young side. So the young girls performed very well. Unfortunately, we lost the match against world champions. We lost the match, but we had a lot of heart in this crowd.

Q. What was going through your mind when Australia were 3 for 10?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Actually, we pump up because we get three girls, ten runs. So it was a really good start. Then she got the number one bowling our team, so we're pumped up.

Q. I don't know if you saw any replays of Meg Lanning got the little edge there, but you used up your review. Did you realize that?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Yeah. Actually, we think the first one is edge, but unfortunately, we lost the review, and the second one is out, I think, but we lost the review.

Q. Also, just for your side, you have in the past scored so many of Sri Lanka's runs, and there's been a lot of discussion about so much resting on your shoulders. Can you talk a bit about the support you got from the other batters today?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Actually, our young girl Umasha Thimeshani, actually she played only three, four internationals, but she's really good. She's a number one bowler, and she scored three first boundaries against Ellyse Perry. So she's really good. I hope she will be playing the next couple of years.

And other batters really give a lot of support for me. So actually, I love to play with pressure. I love to perform with the pressure.

Q. How vulnerable do you think Australia are in this World Cup? Are there weaknesses there to be exploited?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Actually, they don't have any big weaknesses. They're a number one team, no doubt about that. Outside, they are champions. Last couple of months, they win a lot of matches. So actually, sometimes some best teams lose games. It happens in cricket. So I think the thing is, if everyone can perform well and work as a unit, so they can win. That's it.

Q. You've been the mainstay of the Sri Lankan batting for so long. Because of that pressure on you to score, have you ever changed your game or held back some shots?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: No. Actually, you can see, I play all my natural game. That is my positive cricket. That's it. I always talk to myself and say play positive, play with courage, and play freely. That's three words I always talk to myself. So I play my natural game.

I love that pressure because I started international cricket in 2010. That time also I had pressure because I'm the number one batsman on the Sri Lankan team at that time also. Now ten years I play for Sri Lanka, I love that pressure. I always try to play with pressure.

Q. And how much of an influence has Harsha -- he's been with the team for two years now. We see a lot of youngsters coming up, and all the team is playing with positive intent. How much of an influence has his coaching had?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: Yeah, Harsha is a good coach. 2013, the time he coached the Sri Lankan team, the time we won against England, South Africa, and India, the time we come in Super Six. So same coach now work with us. So a lot of young girls now join the national team because we have a good structure. Actually, Mr. Harsha, our coach, are doing a lot of things with young girls. Hopefully, next six months one we can become a good team.

Q. Just referring back to that, the DRS review against Lanning and the unsuccessful review, how do you take those DRS decisions as a team? How important is your say as captain, or who do you consult with when you make that kind of decision given that you don't get to use DRS very often?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: The thing is we know that Meg Lanning is a crucial wicket for us, so we tried to get her wicket. We think that got out, but unfortunately, it's not out. So we talked with the keeper and myself and bowler and Shashi, our senior player. So we talk together and get that decision, not only me.

Q. Have you got -- do you practice those kinds of decisions given that you knew coming into the World Cup that you were going to have DRS available? Was there a way of practicing that?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: No, we're not practicing that, but I have some knowledge about that. So we share the knowledge with the girls, and we take the decisions -- I talk to keeper and bowler and one senior player. That's it.

Q. You seemed to be awfully disappointed with your dismissal. Just before your dismissal there was this chaotic situation where both of you and your batting partner could have been run out by Alyssa Healy. Did that sort of shake your focus a little bit? Because you went up to your batting partner, hugged her, and tried to calm yourself.
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: The thing is she come my way, and I think she's a little bit upset about that. So we talked with each other and sort out it. That is not the way I got out. Because I tried to hit over the shoulder, but unfortunately, I got out. No, that is not the reason.

Q. There's been a lot of debate in the wake of last night's game, where there were two attempts that was not used by bowlers from both sides in terms of dismissing a nonstriker backing up, which is often known in the cricketing circles as Mankading. There is one player on your side who has done that previously. Is that something that's encouraged in the Sri Lankan team, by the coaches or the players?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: No, actually, it's a rule in ICC. So we can't break the rules. If batters going a little bit early, it's not fair. So that is rule in cricket. So we can take that opportunity. So we can tell one time don't go, like that, so don't play unfair. So if she play unfair, we can be good. I think it's good.

Q. The rule actually doesn't need a warning. It's completely legal. It's the batter's responsibility not to leave the crease. But will you still, as a team, personally also give a warning, or will you just do it?
CHAMARI ATHAPATHTHU: No, just we give them chance because we said don't do that. We stop and say first time. Then again, again, she doing the same thing. We can't do that because it's not fair. So then we can take a position.

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